No Way Out
by Gandalf3213
Summary: On Reed and Susan's wedding day, Johnny goes missing. Add a deadly hour long deadline, a small refrigerator, and Victor Von Doom, and things could get messy.
1. I, Reed Richards

**I don't own the Fantastic Four. Just so ya know.**

It was supposed to be a beautiful wedding.

A man stood in the middle of the ballroom, his entire body shaking from barely suppressed sobs. The paper the man held in his hands was crumpled and torn in several places, even though he had just picked it up ten minutes ago.

The man looked around the room. He gazed at the balloons and streamers. They were so festive! They looked as if they should be in a movie about somebody else's life.

He stared at the dance floor next. _That's going to have to wait to be danced on, _he thought sadly.

The man dug into his pocket and pulled out a box. It was small, square, and black. The kind of box that usually held jewelry. A ring. He flipped the box open.

It was empty.

The man smiled through his tears, remembering the prank that was supposed to be pulled.

Not anymore.

Reed Richards put the box back into him pocket. He took a last look at the paper and broke into a run. He had to tell Susan. He just had to.

Reed's legs extended further in front of him then a human's should. He was sprinting now. He had to get to the Baxter Building. Susan had to know this.

The note that lay crumpled in his fist was the bringer of bad news. It had been written by a megalomaniac. One that the Fantastic Four knew well.

Dr. Doom had kidnapped Johnny Storm, Susan's kid brother. He had only hours to live.

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Really, unbelievably short, even for me. Please don't kill me!

But, seriously, you should review.


	2. Take You, Susan Storm

**I don't own anything.**

Susan Storm's voice was echoing back at her, making it sound as if a hundred people were calling out. "Reed. Reed! _Reed!_"

Ben Grimm came out into the hall, his rock-like face fixated into a look of worry. "What's wrong, Suzzie?"

Susan was embarrassed that Ben had heard her, but she **really** wanted to know where her soon-to-be husband was. "I-I just wanted to know where Reed was." She stammered.

Ben started chuckling. "Can't get enough of him can you?" he laughed harder when he saw-or didn't see-Susan disappear in embarrassment. "He went down to the church early. Wanted to make sure everything was purr-fect." Ben stretched out the last word.

Susan looked down at her NY Yankees T-Shirt and jeans. She had already done her hair, but she really needed to get dressed soon. Just so that _she,_ at least, would be ready. "Can you do me a favor, Ben? Run down to the church for me and get **him back here**. Knowing him, he hasn't even started getting ready yet. " she turned, about to go back to her room, when a frantic voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Susan! Ben! SUSAN!" Reed came into view, the front half of him body meters in front of his back half.

"Reed, what's wrong?" Susan rushed forward, seeing the look of anxiety that covered Reed's usually relaxed features.

Reed seemed oblivious to her presence. He looked wildly around the lab. When he couldn't find what he was looking for, he asked Ben. "Where's Johnny?"

Susan heated up. Johnny! He had probably forgotten all about getting the cake and had run off with Christie or Julie or whoever he was dating. "What about Johnny? Did he forget the cake? When I get my hands on him-" Susan's rant was cut off by a piece of paper being thrust under her nose. She flattened out the crumpled paper and began to read, with Ben looking over her shoulder.

**Reed, Ben, and Susan,**

**So sorry I couldn't be there for the Big Day, but I was somewhat preoccupied. I forgot to get you a wedding gift! So I devised a game instead. I've got Mr. Hotshot here. I'll even tell you where he is. You should be familiar with it. 42nd Street, halfway down Rice Ave. **

**The rules of the game are simple. Get your teammate out in the time period I give to you and you win. Don't worry, things will get harder as you move along. The prize at the end is Flame Boy. You don't win, no Johnny. Simple, right?**

**Mazel tov, **

**Victor Von Doom**

Susan put her hand into her mouth, biting it as if the pain she inflicted on herself would keep her from crying. Why today? She thought. Why now? And most important of all, why Johnny?

Ben turned and hit the wall. "Damn. When I get my hands on Doom he'll be sorry he ever-" words left him. He hit the wall again.

Reed tried to stay calm while fighting his own panic. "I know which building he's talking about. It's old storage place..." his voice drifted off. "God, I'm so stupid."

Susan looked up. This was not good. "What? What's wrong, Reed?"

Reed gulped. "The building is a storage house...for ice. It's an old-fashioned Ice House."

Susan's eyes went wide. Then, without a word, she sprinted out of the building, pausing only for a minimum amount of time to pull on her Fantastic Four suit. She barely heard Ben and Reed behind her. All she could think about was the Ice House.

The Ice House that had become her brother's prison. And maybe his tomb.

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**Zis story tis vury gud, you tink it gud?**

Yes, Igor, or else I wouldn't have written it.

**(drops fake accent) Oh yeah! Well, review anyway.**


	3. To Be my Wedded Wife

**I own it not.**

Johnny woke up shivering. He pulled his legs closer to his body, a move which was preformed almost subconsciously. There was no way around the facts, though.

He was screwed.

Point one-He was in a very small veerry cold dungeon. Or attic. Or basement. None were very good. Point two- The room had no windows and no doors, only a small television screen on a wall and a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Point three-he did NOT want to see Suzie's face when she realized that her wedding was going to be cancelled.

Oh yeah, one more, he was locked inside a cell by a megalomaniac who wanted to kill him.

Yup, that about summed it up.

Johnny sat upright and immediately regretted it when he was met by an ear-splitting, eye-popping, nose-cracking headache. He put a hand to the back of his head and felt something hard and somewhat sticky next to a good-sized lump. His hand came back red.

Great.

Johnny stood up, feeling more then a little dizzy but wanting to be ready for anything. He wrapped his arms around his torso, still shivering.

Here's irony for you; a guy whose super-power is flame (flame being hot) is colder then an Eskimo and could do nothing about it, cause if he did, he'd have no oxygen. His fire would burn it up before you could say uh-oh.

Oxygen is a good thing to have, by the way.

Johnny whipped around when he heard the familiar crackle of a screen coming to life. He hoped beyond hope that it would be Suzie and Reed. He was disappointed.

"Doom." He spat, the word itself creating a foul taste in his mouth.

"Very good." Chided Doom. "I see you haven't lost your vision. Though that could be arranged."

Johnny gulped. He knew Victor wasn't lying. "What do you w-want, Doom?" he asked, stuttering as a result of the temperature.

"What do I always want? I want to win, boy. I want to ruin your sister's life. First by using you, but also by making her cancel her wedding." Johnny looked away from the screen, but that couldn't block the sound of Doom's laugh. He wanted to break that TV into tiny, tiny pieces.

"I see that you're already getting a little cold." Johnny looked back at the screen. "Get used to it."

Doom's masked face disappeared and was replaced by numbers. 3 hrs. 47 mins. A countdown.

Johnny didn't even want to think about what would happen if those numbers reached zero.

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Johnny's screwed. I won't let the others rescue him...okay, so i will...maybe. Whatever. review? 


	4. To Have and to Hold

**Own nothing do I.**

Reed pulled to a stop on the road just outside the ice house. He walked slowly up the drive, even as every fiber of his being was telling him to run. That that was the only way to save Johnny. But he had to be on the watch for traps.

Finally, they were in front of the building. Just as they were about to go inside and start their needle-in-a-haystack hunt for Johnny, a computer that none of them had noticed prior to that moment crackled to life. The three friends raced over to it, hoping for some kind of clue.

On the screen was Johnny. To Reed's eyes, he didn't look injured, though he did look cold. Too cold. "Johnny!" he cried, hoping the younger man could hear him.

He could. Johnny opened his eyes and stared blankly at the screen. He seemed unable to place the faces at first, but after a few seconds, he uttered a soft. "B-Ben, Re-reed." He looked at his sister, and she could see the bluish tinge to his lips. "S-s-sorry, s-sis"

Susan's face turned invisible. She didn't want the boys to see her tears.

Ben Grimm swore under his breath and took a disk out of his pocket. He put it into the drive under the monitor, tapping a few of the keys. "How bad off are you, Kid? And do you know how much time we have?"

Johnny screwed up his eyes, as if that would help his thinking. "T-there's a c-c-countd-down. Thr-ree and a h-h-half ho-hours." Suddenly, Johnny screamed bloody murder.

Do you understand the words bloody murder?

Believe me, you don't.

Susan, Ben, and Reed watched helplessly as Johnny twisted and turned on the floor, screaming in pain. Susan could only imagine how hurt Johnny must be, with his body already so tense from the cold. And what was doing this to him?

A voice filled the room that Johnny was in, and the monitor picked it up. "Not good, little Johnny. No telling secrets. They shouldn't know how long they have. Or you have. For that-" the voice paused for effect. "I'm taking away an hour from your overall time. Two and a half hours. Got that, Reed?"

Reed gulped. He didn't want to think about what would happen if he couldn't find Johnny inside the massive building in time. "What are you doing to him, Doom?" Reed demanded.

The voice chuckled. "Just some electro-shock therapy. You should now, Reed. You invented it." The voice was cut off, leaving the three with the picture of Johnny lying motionless on the ground.

Ben tapped a few more keys, finishing the program he had started. It showed all of Johnny's vitals. Blood pressure, heart beat, temperature, ect.. "No way." Ben muttered.

Reed looked at the chart on the side of the screen and let out a low hiss. He still couldn't get over the fact that it was his electro-shock therapy that had been used on Johnny, but this was more important.

Johnny was alive. That was the good news. Bad news-his temperature was seventy degrees below the normal 205◦F. And it was dropping fast.

"Ben, Sue, get in there. You have to get him out of that room." Reed demanded, not taking his eyes off the monitor. "I need to stay here. Make sure Johnny doesn't go under."

Ben nodded and took off. Susan stayed still for a second, looking at the monitor. "Get up, Johnnycake, don't let him get to you."

Then she was gone, following Ben into the building, wondering how what was supposed to be the best day of her life had turned into her worst nightmare.

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Review? 


	5. For Better or Worse

**I own it not**

"See anything?" Susan asked Ben as they walked through the halls of the old Ice House.

Ben looked surprised. "Was I supposed to be looking for something? Oops." He smiled ad pretended to rub his arm in pain when Susan punched him.

"Not funny, Ben." She said, though her eyes said differently. She thought it was very funny, but her worry for Johnny prevented her from smiling. Ben saw this, and it made him sadder then ever.

Ben suddenly put up a hand. "Stop." He ordered, tilting his head and listening. Though Johnny had often teased him for having no ears, Ben did have a remarkably good hearing. "Something's coming."

He was right. Susan heard it now, too. A scuttling sound. Like a giant spider. _Please, anything but spiders!_ Susan thought, her childhood fear of the eight-legged beasts coming into play.

But life is never fair. Seconds later, two huge spider-like creatures stood in front of the pair. They were at least seven feet tall, and over five feet wide. Pincers that looked like knives gleamed brightly in the dim light. Susan stood with her back to Ben as the animals circled them. She was ready.

With lightning speed she lashed out at the creature nearest to her, turning invisible at the same time. It was a strategy the team had used many times. She'd distract whatever wanted to kill them while Ben went in for the attack. It worked every time.

And it _would_ have worked that time, too, if the unseen third spider hadn't grabbed Susan's legs.

She gasped in pain as she felt the pincers tear through the skin on her right leg. Without thinking, she went for the eyes. Punching at two at a time. After blinding at least five of the creature's eyes, it let her go.

"Suzie!" Ben hurried over to her, leaving behind him two enormous carcasses. "Suzie, are you okay?"

Susan blinked back tears and looked at her leg. It was covered with a sticky sap-like substance from the pincers of the spider and the two cuts were bleeding, but not enough to be an issue. She nodded.

Ben lifted her up and stood her upright, frowning as he saw her sway a bit. "I really think-" he began, but Susan cut him off.

"I'm fine. Let's go, we need to get to Johnny." She started off running.

The corridor was suddenly filled with Doom's voice. "One down, two to go." It called mockingly. "And only two hours left."

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So, you like it? 


	6. For Richer and Poorer

**I don't own Fantastic Four. I don't own an airplane either, in case you were wondering.**

Reed hated doing nothing. It wasn't in his nature to stand around, watching his friend die. But that's what he was doing now.

He couldn't begin to imagine the pain Johnny must be in. To be so cold, when you were usually so hot must be unfathomable. And the worst part was, since their DNA had been genetically altered, Johnny could stand it. He would just die slower.

Crap.

And now it was Reed's job to make sure Johnny stayed awake for the next two hours. He had to prevent the younger man from doing what his body wanted and needed. To die. So Reed talked.

And Johnny listened.

He talked about anything he could thing of. How the Yankees had beat the Red Sox in the latest game. How his work at the lab was incredibly slow. How the latest episode of CSI was really cool. How the weather was.

But not once about the situation. He never mentioned Doom, or the refrigerator that was now Johnny's prison. Or about the way he knew Johnny was going to die.

Because Reed knew how Doom worked. He knew that Doom's method of revenge was going to be something slow, and painful, and graphic.

Which left two options (at least to Reed) Physical Force. Or Carbon Monoxide.

Reed sided with the second one.

"Johnny!" He cried, looking at the screen. Johnny had started screaming again, writhing on the floor from the invisible pain. "Johnny, what is it?" he cried, wanting to look away from the torture but unable to tear his eyes away from the screen.

"Don't you know, Reed?" Doom's smooth voice came over the screen. "Electro shock therapy is very "in" now."

Reed seethed in anger. "Johnny did nothing to deserve this!" he roared stung by the injustice of the actions.

"No." Doom agreed. "But since your friends have gotten past the first of my tests, I needed _something_ to take my anger out on."

Johnny, breathing hard after the latest round of pain, couldn't help himself. "How 'bout some anger management courses, Doom?" he muttered between gasps.

Doom chuckled. "Such spunk. We'll see if that still stays after the next round."

Reed paled, seeing Johnny looking at him, mouthing the words _Next round?_

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Short, I know, but I needed to explain Reed's abscene. So go ahead. Review. 


	7. In Sickness and in Health

**i own it not**

Ben slammed his fist against the wall. Reed had just told them about Johnny, and how much pain he had been in.

"So, your saying that if we try to save him, he gets hurt. And if we don't try to save him, he dies." He slammed his fist against the wall again and looked over at Susan, who hadn't said a word since they'd received the message from Reed. "What's the matter, Suzzie?" he asked.

Susan Storm took a shuddering breath and tried not to look at Ben. "God, Ben, Johnny's my baby brother!" She took another shuddering breath and stood up. "Okay, okay, let's go. I need to kill something."

The twosome ran down the hall, which was nearly identical to the one they'd been down before. They knew they were going the right way-Johnny was locked in a pretty big room, and the biggest ice room was at the heart of the building.

There was a problem, though. Actually, there were four big problems. Blocking their path were four huge ants that reached the ceiling.

Ben leaned over to Susan, "Ants? What's he doing, breeding a bug zoo?" Susan shrugged. Her whole body was already tense-ready for the fight.

"Ready?" Susan smiled at Ben. Of course she was ready. She needed something to take her anger out on, and four mutant ants were just what the doctor ordered.

Ben went forward first and slammed two of the bug's heads together. When that didn't stop them, he used shear muscle to defeat them.

Susan tried to distract the other two. She was invisible and circling around her prey. "Come on, stupid ants." She teased, moving quickly from one space to another.

"Come and get me, you know you want to." She teased again, upset that the ants couldn't see her smile.

Just as she was about to go in for the kill, a huge person blocked her path and took down her monsters.

"Ben!" she shouted, angry that she couldn't kill at least **one**.

Ben turned around, saw her appear, and dropped one of the already dead ants. "Oh-sorry Suzie. Did you want to kill one?" he asked, his deep gravely voice echoing off the walls.

Susan sighed. "Nah, it doesn't really matter. But the next huge mutant monster we come across is mine!" she smiled at Ben, to show she was joking. "Come on-my brother needs us."

Ben nodded in agreement, and the two took off down the hall again.

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hey, you people out there! Review, please! 


	8. To Love and to Cherish

**I own it not**

Reed wanted to get out of there. He wanted to help get to Johnny, not just watch him. But he knew he had to stay there, for Johnny's sake.

His friend was getting bluer by the minute, shivering uncontrollably. Johnny kept his eyes focused on Reed, never taking his eyes off the older man. It made Reed feel uncomfortable, having another man-especially his supposed-to-be wife's little brother-relying on him. And trusting him.

"'m s-sorry, Reed." Johnny stuttered, his eyes focused on Reed. "I kn-know how impo-portant the d-day was 'sposed to b-be." Reed chuckled without humor.

"Aww Johnny, you know your sister. She just needs to get every bad guy. Plus, she needed you to walk her down the aisle."

Just then, Doom's voice echoed throughout the room. "Yes, Johnny, and why is that? Isn't the _father_ supposed to do that?"

Reed stiffened, and saw Johnny do the same, the eyes, which had been glassy before, were ablaze with anger. "Don't say anything, Johnny." Reed warned.

"Yes, Johnny, don't say anything." Doom agreed. "Just listen. Do you remember the first time you came into my office?" Johnny nodded, knowing better then to say anything. "You asked me for a job, and I gave it to you, even though you'd already been kicked out of four agencies, including NASA."

Johnny and Reed both wondered where this was going.

"So, technically, you're in my debt. And you have to pay it off, you do know that?" Johnny only looked puzzled, shivering harder as he thought of a possibility.

"And since you're going to die in an hour-oh, sorry, fifty minutes-and no one's here to save you, I have to have my debt paid off now." At the word 'now' Johnny began screaming again, writhing in pain.

Reed looked worriedly over towards his vitals. The only good thing about being mutated by the storm cloud was that the four friends now had a higher tolerance to pain, but Johnny was nearing the limit.

Reed watched the younger man twitching in agony, screaming. He tried to reason with Doom. "What are you trying to prove, Doom? That you can get to any of us by capturing only one? Okay, you proved your point, now let him go." Reed's voice was steely, and had an edge to it. But Doom neither seemed to have heard nor cared. Johnny kept twitching, and his heart rate kept increasing.

_He'll die if I don't do anything._ Reed realized suddenly. He tried another tactic. "Why Johnny, anyway? Go after the youngest and the weakest? You were always the playground bully, Doom."

Suddenly, Johnny stopped twitching. He was on the floor, panting and sweating even in the freezing cold room. He smiled weakly at Reed and closed his eyes, breathing heavily.

"That was just the beginning." Doom said quietly, then the voice was cut off suddenly, leaving the two men alone.

Reed looked at Johnny. "Hey, you can't fall asleep now!" he shouted, trying to get the man's attention.

"So c-cold. Ne-need sl-leep." Johnny muttered. Reed screamed t him, saying anything that came to mind until at last Johnny opened one eye.

"Just an hour more." Reed pleaded. "That's all I need."

Johnny nodded. "'kay."

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You like? 


	9. From this day Forward

**I own nothing**

Susan really, really, really, really, _really _hoped that they didn't have to get past any more monsters. She also really hoped that Johnny was okay, 'cause he was the only little brother she had.

They rounded yet another corner, but if Susan's sense of direction was good, it was the last corner. She breathed out a sigh of relief, and could feel Ben get a tiny bit less tense next to her. Because at the end of the hall was a pair of double doors, that looked like they probably led to a huge refridgerator. The pair ran up to it. They were twenty meters away...ten...five...Doom?

Dr. Doom was blocking their path, and Susan and Ben had to skid and slide to stop from hitting him. Doom chuckled. "One last test before you get Mr. Hotshot back," Doom said in the sickeningly calm way of his. "You get to fight me."

Something that was probably the beginings of a smile played around Susan's lips. Ben looked satisfied. "You?" Ben said. "We beat you once, we can do it again, you slimeball."

Doom clicked his toungue. "Ben, Ben, Ben. Didn't your mommy ever tell you not to call people names?"

Ben had had enough. With a cry of rage he sprang forward, wrapping his arms wround Doom's throat. Susan had disappeared. Literally. Doom looked at Ben, his eyes sparkling with a joke that only he knew. "You don't get it, do you? Johnny Storm is my prisoner. When I say time's up...time's up."

Ben didn't get it at first, then a look of dawning comprehension and fear shadowed his features. He threw Doom aside and tried to open the door that led to where he knew Johnny was being imprisoned. It was iced shut.

Susan had reappeard. All she could do was stand upright, and even that was a difficult task. She looked at Doom, whispering, "How could you?"

Doom laughed again. "Why wouldn't I? But Susie, you know I haven't given you your weddin present yet. I'll open the door." he reached into his pocket, and Ben instantly stiffened.

"What's the catch, Doom?" the rock man demanded, one hand still on the door. He never would trust Doom again.

Doom laughed for the third time. "No catch. I want Susie to see what-" he opened the door, "Her brother looks like when he's dead."

Susan was through the door in a flash, but Ben lunged for Doom. He landed on thin air. The villian's last words of, "See you soon," were still reverberating through the air. Ben didn't have time to be upset or angry. He had to see that kid.

The first thing Ben noticed was the blank veiw screen. Where was Reed? He couldn't worry about that either. There was crying. Susan.

Ben reached Susan Storm just as a panting Reed came in through the door. "How is he?" both Ben and Reed called out at the same time.

Susan gasped, "He's...he's not breathing."

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Nice wedding present, huh? I mean, whatever happened to SPOONS!

Review?


	10. Until Death Do Us Part

**I own nothing**

_I don't know why everybody thinks the last chapter I wrote was the last chapter, but it isn't. This is._

"He's not breathing!" Susan Storm sobbed again.

Ben put one hand on Johnny's bruised body and raised the other one above it. Reed saw immediately what he was going to do and stopped him.

"You'll crush his lungs." He explained, throwing feverish looks at Johnny. He assumed the position Ben had been in, trying not to look at his comrade's face, and proceeded to pound on his chest, trying to restart the heart.

Susan looked away, tears flowing endlessly down her cheeks, her breath coming in short gasps. Ben was the only one actually looking at Johnny's face, which was pale from both cold...and death. He, too, had tears running down his rocky cheeks.

Reed continued to pound on Johnny's chest, tasting the salty bitterness of his own tears. He needed Johnny. They all needed Johnny.

A deep, shuddering intake of breath made every pair of eyes turn to Johnny's face. The eyes, which had been closed, were open and gazing around confusedly. Johnny's hands clawed at Reed, looking for support, but his eyes lingered on his sister. He even managed a weak smile.

Then he passed out.

Ben moved forward, tears still flowing. He picked up Johnny's limp form and stood for a second, listening to the younger man breathe. Then, with Ben in the lead carrying Johnny, the Fantastic Four ran out of the room.

**Two Weeks Later**

Johnny stood in the back of the room, watching the party. He was, of course, happy that his sister was getting married, but he was tired. So, so tired.

Johnny was waiting for the tiredness to go away. To wear off. Ever since he had been rescued, he couldn't seem to stay awake for more then six hours at a time. Right now, he was pushing eight.

He looked around the room, filled with people dancing and talking. He felt like he didn't belong there, with the people, because suddenly, people scared him.

Johnny still had scars where the electricity had coursed through his body. He still had nightmares about his ordeal. He still hated the company of people. And he didn't know when that was going to change.

Ben came over and stood next to him. "How're you doing, kid?"

Johnny shrugged, then leaned against Ben, his head barely reaching the older man's chest. He needed sleep. "I'm tired, Ben. When's it going to end?"

Ben wished there was an answer to that. He knew that Johnny hated himself for hating people, he wished he knew when all the man's troubles were going to go away. But he didn't.

"I don't know kid. I don't know." Ben held Johnny's small body to his, and felt the ongoing thumping of the heart.

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Fin. 


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